My first child’s first food, as a newborn, was donated breast milk, and I’ll always be grateful she had such a great first start. Huge gratitude to that generous woman in the ” breastfeeding room” of the hospital; she sat there pumping her milk into little plastic bottles that went into the fridge there for the use of whoever needed it. It took me a couple of weeks to get my proper flow going.

Well, here’s something to watch– A 1989 Brazilian “documentary” about human beings, animals, farming, social economies, wealth, poverty, hunger…through the singular life trajectory of a tomato. You will be amused and outraged at the same time. The film is a comment on economic systems, food systems and the human folly that creates such hideous inequity.

There seems to be a debate about whether the scene with people scavenging for what the pigs reject was orchestrated, with people paid to be actors. Is this a documentary with a metaphorical point, therefore a different kind of documentary, or would such “falseness” reduce the veracity and seriousness of the film which, despite its quirkiness, aspires to literal truth-telling? I’m undecided.